Abbey has had difficulties working with Jason since he began working at N&O salon; however, the situation has worsened in the last few months. Whenever Abbey works with Jason, he does his utmost to stand close to her and keeps brushing up against her. Abbey has told Jason repeatedly to stop standing too close to her, but Jason tells Abbey, 'She is just too cute, he can't resist. Often when Jason gets too close, Abbey will push him away; other times, when Jason has touched her or bumped into her, he will move off without saying anything to her. On other occasions, when Jason tries to touch Abbey intimately by attempting to caress her backside, Jason realises that Abbey is alarmed and he has gone too far, so he will say, 'sorry touch' -then move away from Abbey.

In June 2022, Abbey then raised her concerns about Jason's behaviour with the other (2) women in the salon, Audrey and Pixie

On 1st August 2022, Abbey is called into a meeting with Noah and Oliver, which own the Salon company. They indicate the salon is undergoing financial difficulties due to the impact of COVID. And that Abbey's role was surplus to their requirements. Following the discussions, "Abbey requested further information about the restructuring and asked if she could comment on it. Instead, Abbey received a letter which said the turnover was done by $250K, and wages had gone up by nearly $70K. Abbey asked Noah whether her comments to Audrey about Jason's behaviour had any bearing on the decision-making"

Noah replied that Jason was a bit slutty sometimes, but he was a damn good stylist. Noah explicitly stated that the reason for the restructuring was the need to downsize.

On the 14th ofAugust 2022, (2) other staff members left to start their own salon.

On 21stAugust, Abbey was advised that her position was disestablished, and instead of being given notice, she was paid a month in lieu. Abbey's last day at work was 21stAugust 2022.

Abbey wants to know

Whether she has been subjected to sexual harassment (Employment Relations Act 2000, s 108) and, if so, whether N&O have failed to take steps to avoid a repetition of Jason's behaviour so that his actions are treated as the employer's actions (Employment Relations Act 2000, ss 118(2));